Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFGeometridae Members: Orthonama Members: 639 NC Records

Orthonama obstipata (Fabricius, 1794) - Gem Moth

Orthonama obstipataOrthonama obstipataOrthonama obstipata
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Geometroidea		 Family:
Geometridae		Subfamily:
Larentiinae		Tribe:
Xanthorhoini		P3 Number:
91a0446		 MONA Number:
7414.00		 Other Common Name:
The Gem
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
Adult Markings: A small Wave that is strongly sexually dimorphic. Females are distinctively reddish-brown and have a conspicuous round white discal spot with a black center. Males are lighter brown with a blackish median area; the discal spot is dark. Female Costaconvexa centrostrigaria are similar to male obstipata in possessing a blacking median band, but have contrasting bands of chocolate brown between the black median area and the whitish antemedian and postmedian lines, whereas these areas are paler brown in obstipata, not contrasting with the ground color (Forbes, 1948). The apex is also marked with a dark wedge in centrostrigaria but is pale in obstipata and bounded below by a dark dash or shade. Additionally, the postmedian in obstipata is usually incurved where it meets the costa but is either slightly excurved or straight in centrostrigaria.
Wingspan: 15-18 mm
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution:
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Orthonama obstipataAlamance Alexander Alleghany Anson Ashe Avery Beaufort Bertie Bladen Brunswick Buncombe Burke Cabarrus Caldwell Camden Carteret Caswell Catawba Chatham Cherokee Chowan Clay Cleveland Columbus Craven Cumberland Currituck Dare Davidson Davie Duplin Durham Edgecombe Forsyth Franklin Gaston Gates Graham Granville Greene Guilford Halifax Harnett Haywood Henderson Hertford Hoke Hyde Iredell Jackson Johnston Jones Lee Lenoir Lincoln Macon Madison Martin McDowell Mecklenburg Mitchell Montgomery Moore Nash New Hanover Northampton Onslow Orange Pamlico Pasquotank Pender Perquimans Person Pitt Polk Randolph Richmond Robeson Rockingham Rowan Rutherford Sampson Scotland Stanly Stokes Surry Swain Transylvania Tyrrell Union Vance Wake Warren Washington Watauga Wayne Wilkes Wilson Yadkin Yancey
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge 		Image showing flight dates by month for High Mountains greater than 4,000 feet, Low Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain: adults.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Our records come from essentially the entire spectrum of open and forested habitats in the state.
Larval Host Plants: Forbes (1948) lists knotweed (Polygonum) and other forbs as host plants. Covell (1984) adds Chrysanthemum, dock (Rumex), elm (Ulmus), mayweed (Matricaria), and ragwort (Senecio). - View
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for General Forests and Fields
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 SNR [S5]
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments:

 Photo Gallery for Orthonama obstipata - Gem Moth

 311 photos are available. Only the most recent 30 are shown.
Orthonama obstipata
Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-12-25
Rowan Co.
Comment: 		Orthonama obstipata
Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-11-25
Brunswick Co.
Comment:
Orthonama obstipata
iNaturalist		Recorded by: elijahfreeman19 on 2025-11-22
Currituck Co.
Comment: iNat record - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/327742643		Orthonama obstipata
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2025-11-20
Madison Co.
Comment:
Orthonama obstipata
Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-11-14
Brunswick Co.
Comment: 		Orthonama obstipata
Recorded by: Hunter Phillips on 2025-11-09
Onslow Co.
Comment:
Orthonama obstipata
Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-11-08
Brunswick Co.
Comment: 		Orthonama obstipata
Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-11-07
Brunswick Co.
Comment:
Orthonama obstipata
Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2025-11-07
Wake Co.
Comment: 		Orthonama obstipata
Recorded by: G. Newman on 2025-10-21
Onslow Co.
Comment:
Orthonama obstipata
Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-10-21
Wilson Co.
Comment: 		Orthonama obstipata
Recorded by: Merrill Lynch on 2025-09-22
Watauga Co.
Comment:
Orthonama obstipata
Recorded by: Merrill Lynch on 2025-09-22
Watauga Co.
Comment: 		Orthonama obstipata
Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-08-28
Wilson Co.
Comment:
Orthonama obstipata
iNaturalist		Recorded by: forest--dweller - forest—dweller on 2025-08-17
Henderson Co.
Comment: iNat record - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/307394500		Orthonama obstipata
Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-08-12
Ashe Co.
Comment:
Orthonama obstipata
Recorded by: Emily Stanley on 2025-07-29
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Orthonama obstipata
Recorded by: Allison Garton on 2025-06-25
Moore Co.
Comment:
Orthonama obstipata
Recorded by: Jeff Niznik, David George, Larry Chen, Sarah Toner, Joye Zhou on 2025-06-20
Richmond Co.
Comment: 		Orthonama obstipata
Recorded by: Dean Furbish, Lior S. Carlson on 2025-06-17
Alamance Co.
Comment:
Orthonama obstipata
Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Jim Petranka, Becky Elkin on 2025-05-24
Richmond Co.
Comment: 		Orthonama obstipata
Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-05-22
Wilson Co.
Comment:
Orthonama obstipata
Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Brian Bockhahn, Jim Petranka, John Petranka, Becky Elkin on 2025-05-09
Cumberland Co.
Comment: 		Orthonama obstipata
iNaturalist		Recorded by: bullhillnaturalist on 2025-04-30
Stanly Co.
Comment: iNat record - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/278607733
Orthonama obstipata
Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2025-04-28
Chatham Co.
Comment: 		Orthonama obstipata
Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-04-28
Wilson Co.
Comment:
Orthonama obstipata
Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-03-28
Brunswick Co.
Comment: 		Orthonama obstipata
Recorded by: Chuck Smith on 2025-03-28
Harnett Co.
Comment:
Orthonama obstipata
Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-03-24
Brunswick Co.
Comment: 		Orthonama obstipata
Recorded by: Jeff Niznik, Kaitlyn Elliott on 2025-03-23
Orange Co.
Comment: